Starbucks To Close May 29th For “Racial-Bias Education Day”

Starbucks to close all company-owned stores on the afternoon of May 29 for “racial-bias education day.” The coffee chain has been under fire two Black men were arrested at a Philadelphia Starbuck while waiting for a friend in Philadelphia.

During an interview with NPR, Rosalind Brewer, Starbucks COO, shared her perspective on the incident as both a Starbucks employee and a Black mother.

“Just watching that video was quite painful. As an African American executive myself with a 23-year-old African American son, it was very difficult to watch,” she told NPR.

“The police should not have been called in this situation and this was a teachable moment for all of us,” she said, reiterating the company’s message of corporate accountability. “We take full responsibility to make sure that our company remains great. Good companies acknowledge their mistakes and then make the necessary changes to become a better company.”

Now the company will look to not only repair their image but train their employees on racial bias.

22. Scenes From The Demonstration Against Racism At Starbucks

The protest is growing outside the @Starbucks. The woman on the right in the red shirt is 90 years old and told a story about her father who died when she was 9 as a result of racial profiling and police brutality. pic.twitter.com/DxQb5OYtSG

Activists Protest Racial Profiling, Arrests Of Black People In Starbucks

Black Lives Matter activists called for a boycott of the Starbucks coffee chain just days after an employee called the police to arrest two Black men inside a Philadelphia location were not buying anything and wouldn’t leave. Despite a number of factors that should have convinced police to show discretion and restraint — the men were not armed; they were not violent; they did not resist arrest; the White man who they were meeting yelled at the police that the men did nothing wrong; a bystander filmed the entire episode on video — then men were still taken into custody Thursday.
The video has since gone viral.
https://twitter.com/missydepino/status/984539713016094721
The first of what is expected to be many protests took place April 14 at the Starbucks location in question.